Aftermath
by Famous Fault
Summary: One-shot: Mr Bennet could not save him, though he tried, nobody could. The anger of the friend was understandable, so was his sorrow, the explanation was not. No one there could understand how a game could do all that.


This is raw and unbetad. The object of sudden inspiration, this is written in just a couple of hours.  
This does not really have a background, it just ... is.  
This is based on the book Pride and Prejudice (the original), just so you know.  
Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Mr Bennet only rarely left his library, it was his haven, the only place he knew that made him feel at home. It was his shelter from his silly wife and daughters. Now with his dearest daughter married at Pemberley and Jane in the county neighboring to Derbyshire all common sense had been removed from his home although he on occasion received a letter that informed him about Kitty's improvement.

He had never been much of a traveler, but with the circumstances as they were he often left Longbourn for Derbyshire and Pemberley. He left Mrs Bennet to be taken care of by the servants and Mary, since his silly wife could not bare to be alone.

One of the greatest joy's in Mr Bennet's life, beside his library, was turning up at Pemberley unannounced. It was a true delight to him, especially since he knew he was always welcome. Mr Darcy had risen high in Mr Bennet's esteem and the same thing counted the other way around; Mr Darcy quite liked his father-in-law. Whenever his carriage stopped at Pemeberley, announced or not, he was welcomed warmly by Mr, Mrs, and miss Darcy. It had taken miss Darcy some time to get used to Mr Bennet's cynical sense of humor, but in the end she too grew quite fond of him.

Having spend a little too much time in the presence of his wife and Mary he was eager to get away from Longbourn as quickly as possible. In honor of Georgianna Darcy's birthday a ball would be held at Pemberley in three days, Mr Bennet had replied he would not attend but now he regretted doing so.

He ordered the carriage to be readied, he on his own would travel to Derbyshire and attend the ball. It would be the perfect occasion for him to see both Jane and Eliza again, as well as Mr and Mrs Gardiner. Mrs Bennet protested when he told her he would travel to Derbyshire, but he took no notice and was soon on the road.

His trip did not went as well as he had hoped. Halfway to Derbyshire one of the wheels broke and he was delayed. For a while he was highly disappointed but when he at last arrived at Pemberley he was pleased, the delay had given him a perfect timing. The ball had just started, all the guests had arrived and no one would be here to see him enter. He would enjoy the reaction of his two daughters when he appeared in the doorway.

He stepped out of the carriage and adjusted his hat a little. Music could be heard from inside and the burning candles were warm and welcoming. It was rather chilly and dark outside and it would be nice to enter the warmth of Pemberley. It was quite a welcoming estate when one was wished.

With no hesitation he walked up the fanned stairs when he heard a rustle behind him. Mr Bennet was a pragmatic man who was not easily scared by sounds at night, he turned and was faced by the Pemberley woods. The rustle was heard again, closer now and Mr Bennet hoped a deer would appear between the trees. They were not uncommon in the part of England he was in at present. Holding still, as not to scare the animal away he peered towards the woods.

What descended from between the trees was not a deer. "Watashi o tasukete", someone whispered, leaning heavily against a tree. Mr Bennet could have sworn he saw a ghost, something like that could not exist. Then the person collapsed.

Mr Bennet did not hesitate, he would not deny that the word 'ghost' had crossed his mind, but the moment he saw the young man collapse he decided that he was human and rushed forward to aid him. The man was laying face down on the earthy ground, his hands oddly enough clenched in fists and dressed in a way Mr Bennet could not comprehend, not to mention his hair.

He decided to ignore all that was weird about the young man and turned him around to feel for a pulse. He was alarmed when he found it, the heartbeat of the man was far too slow, so was his breathing, not to mention that he was unconscious and tense at the same time, it was odd and alarming. This man, if he wanted to survive, had to have help at once.

Mr Bennet took one of the stranger's arms and draped it over his shoulders, then he used his own remaining free arm to get a grip underneath the man's shoulders. It surprised him how light the man was, he weighed nearly nothing and he was quite short. From around his neck hung a chain with an upside down pyramid in gold. Mr Bennet knew not what to think.

He made his way over to the Pemberley mansion and knocked on the door as good as he could while supporting the stranger. A servant opened and every eye of the people present turned on him. His arrival was just as dramatic as he had wished, though not quite because of the same reasons he thought wryly. "Father!" Jane called out when she saw him.

"Help me", Mr Bennet said, nearly faltering under the unimpressive weight of the stranger, after all, he was only an old man. Anger flared inside him as he saw that the majority of the people present backed away, probably because of the way the injured stranger looked. Mr Bingley however, kind and just as ever, reacted at once, without a second thought he dashed forth and relieved Mr Bennet of the stranger's weight. "He needs a doctor at once", Mr Bennet explained when Mr and Mrs Darcy came forth too.

Mr Darcy turned towards the housekeeper who had opened the door. "Mrs Reynolds, have one of the staff get a doctor as fast as they can. No delays are permitted. Go now!" Mrs Reynolds wasted no time on bowing or other formalities, she dashed of as fast as she could to inform someone to alert a doctor.

Whispers had erupted among the gathered people and Mr Bennet did not miss the indignant tone those whispers had. Many of the people present would have been too proud to take care of a man that had collapsed outside their home and to see Mr Darcy order a doctor for a complete stranger was unthinkable. What if the man was a beggar? A homeless man here to take advantage of the Darcys?

Luckily Mr Darcy did not think like that, proud as many might deem him, he was also humane. This man that had collapsed in the Pemberley woods would be taken care of by his daughter and her husband. He was quite certain that Mrs and Mr Bingley would make sure the man was alright too, kindhearted as the both of them were. Miss Bingley at the other hand cast the stranger an distrusting glance before backing away into the crowd.

Mr and Mrs Gardiner did the opposite, with looks of pity they made their way forward. Together with Mr Gardiner Mr Bingley put the stranger on a couch and checked if he was still alive. He was, though only barely.

"What happened?" Mr Darcy asked, turning to Mr Bennet. Mr Bennet had the attention of the entire crowd, some listened because they were generally concerned, others out of malice and because they wanted new gossip to spread.

"I don't know", Mr Bennet said to the disappointment of the latter part, "I arrived here and I heard a rustle in the woods. I stayed to see what it was and than this young man appeared from between the trees, he said something in a language I did not understand, then collapsed."

"A different language?" Mr Bingley said and looked at the man, examining his appearance, "it would explain a lot if he was a foreigner."

"I take it he is", Mr Bennet said, "I did not hear very well, but it sounded Asian."

"Asian", Georgianna repeated, who had also joined them. "That's very far."

"Very far", her brother echoed, "too far for a person to come stumbling out of the woods just like that." In the ensuing silence everyone tried their theories, but nobody could think of an explanation to the sudden appearance. On occasion Mr Bingley or Mr Gardinar looked to see if he was still alive, but the more time went the weaker his heartbeat became. Not one of them could find a cause for his weakness, no injuries, fever or anything else to indicate mortal danger. Nonetheless, in mortal danger he resided.

After half an hour Mr Gardiner said with a frown: "If the doctor doesn't arrive soon I don't think he will survive." Mr Bennet did not miss the tears that formed in his eldest daughter's eyes, even for the life of a stranger she would weep. He put a hand on her shoulder as he looked at the foreigner.

Five minutes later, when a doctor arrived, the young man was hardly breathing. The doctor shook his head as he examined the young man again and again. "I … I don't understand", he stuttered at last, "nothing is wrong with him. Yes, he's dying, but I can't find a reason as to why." He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do."

Jane started crying even more, although she did it discretely. Mr Bingley held her in comfort and miss Darcy sought comfort with Eliza who, although not crying, looked very gloomy. Mr Darcy and Mr Gardiner had a low conversation with the doctor, sharing theories and discussing what to do now. Mrs Gardiner came to stand next to Mr Bennet. "Even though the doctor says he can't do anything, I don't really want to stand here and wait for him to die."

Mr Bennet looked at his sister-in-law and sighed deeply. "I'm afraid that this young life was already lost when I picked it up."

"I would at least like to know who he is. Do you think he's a soldier?" Mrs Gardiner asked.

"With that clothing, no, I doubt it", Mr Bennet said, "I think he is from a land very far away from here and that he's had an unfortunate trip."

Then the door opened again. It hit the wall with great force, witnessing of the unheard manner of opening it. Many of the woman gasped indignant but the man in the doorway took no notice. He stood there with his legs apart and his arms stretched out from having pushed the doors open with all the force he could manage. He scanned the room, his eyes narrowed in distrust when he saw the way the people in front of him were dressed. "Kuso", he hissed.

Then he searched the room with his gaze once more and it fell upon the little gathering around the couch. He stared for about two seconds, the eyes of everyone but the doctor and Mr Gardiner on him, they were to busy trying to keep the stranger alive.

It did not escape Mr Bennet that the blonde man was dressed equally abnormal as that of the dying foreigner on the couch. His pants were long and blue, his waistcoat was white, but for some odd reason lacking buttons and had two vertical blue stripes and his coat was green, his shoes should not even be mentioned and he carried no hat.

Then suddenly the newly appeared stranger shot forward, towards the couch. He pushed past Mr Bennet and Mrs Gardiner without any sign of courtesy and did not apologize for his rough manners. Mr and Mrs Bingley saw him coming and moved out of the way quickly. Mr Darcy was staring at him undignified, but once again the blonde man took no notice.

"Yugi!" the man called out before pushing the doctor away. He fell to his knees next to the dying foreigner and took one of the limp hands into his. "Nani ga okotte iru?" he said and turned to Mr Gardiner.

"I can't understand you", Mr Gardiner said and shook his head.

"English?" the boy asked with a confused expression.

"Do you speak it?" Mr Gardiner asked, and Mr Bennet could have sworn that everyone in their little party exhaled in relief.

"Not good", the blonde man said slowly, thinking through every word. "What happening?"

"Is he a friend?" Mr Gardiner asked, speaking slowly and clearly

"Friend …" The man tasted the word. "Juyin", he said when he remembered the meaning of the word. "Yes, friend." Then he looked upon the dying man. "Alright?"

Mr Gardiner shook his head. "No, he's dying."

"Shinikakete iru!" the blonde called out, clearly understanding Mr Gardiner's words. "No!" The man turned towards the foreigner and to everybody's shock he grabbed the dying man by the collar and yelled in his face. Not Mr Bennet nor anybody else understood anything of what the man was yelling, but they could all tell that his anger was the product of fear and denial but most importantly heartrending grief.

When the blonde man let go of his friend to wipe his eyes the doctor took the chance to see how the dying foreigner was doing. He turned towards those nearest to him. "He's got minutes. He's not going to wake up again." It was probably a good thing that the doctor spoke too fast for the blonde foreigner to understand.

Elizabeth Darcy heard and nodded, she turned away from the group and faced those who attended the ball. "Attention, people, please", she said with raised voice. She had everyone's undivided attention in a matter of seconds. "It saddens me to announce that this ball, delightful as it was, cannot continue this eve. My sincerest apologies and I politely ask you to return home." Then she bowed a bit towards them before turning back to Georgianna. "I'm sorry", she said with a small smile, "this was your birthday."

"It's okay", Georgianna said and smiled sadly, before throwing the two strangers a look. "This is more important."

"You're a kind girl", Mr Darcy said and put a hand on his sister's shoulder, "I'll make up for it." Then he looked at Elizabeth over Georgianna's head and thanked her silently for dismissing the guests.

Mr Gardiner had caught the attention of the blonde. "I'm sorry", was all he said, while the blonde furiously kept wiping his tears away.

"Kuso", the blonde hissed again and nobody needed to understand the language spoken to know that what he was saying would have several priests pray for his soul. But right now nobody was worried about the blonde's soul. All their prayers were with the odd stranger, the dying stranger.

"What happened?" Mr Darcy asked the blonde stranger, his tone not unkind.

The blonde seemed to think very deeply before replying, clearly struggling with the language. "Gēmu", the blonde replied, "game. Yami no gēmu. Dark Game."

The assembly exchanged glances with each other. Dark game? That did not sound like anything any of them wanted to be involved with. "I don't understand", Mr Darcy said and looked at the blonde with a frown. "A game did this? I don't see how that could be possible."

"Mistake", was all the foreigner said, unable to meddle what had happened properly.

"They played a dark game, made a mistake and now one of them is dying", Eliza summarized and shook her head. "Certainly there must be made a mistake in his translation."

Mr Bennet did not agree with his daughter. The blonde, although not at all skilled with the English language, spoke his words with a certain conviction that made that Mr Bennet believed that the young man knew what he was saying.

"Can you tell me what is wrong with him?" the doctor asked the boy and received a blank stare, indicating that the foreigner had not understood. Mr Gardiner reformulated the question. "Tell me, why is he dying?"

Now the blonde understood. He shook his head, his jaw tight. "He is not … sick. The problem is … his heart … soul."

The doctor shook his head. "Nonsense. A person doesn't die without reason. His soul can't be the reason he is dying."

The blonde might not have understood the doctor's words completely, but he caught the gist. "His life is … nusuma reta … stolen by darkness."

Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley exchanged a look while the doctor kept shaking his head. "I am a man of science", he said, turning towards mr Darcy, "I can't work with someone claiming that this man's life is being stolen by darkness."

"You can not find a better explanation yourself", Mr Darcy said, his eyes narrowing, "you yourself can see the oddity this pair resembles. I am not too proud to admit that there might be something I do not understand."

"I don't think it matters anymore", Mr Gardiner said as he searched for a pulse. The doctor threw himself over the young man at once, trying to find any sign of life. He did not.

"I'm sorry", he whispered, "he's dead."

"Ie! Yugi!" the blonde called out and hit the floor with his fists, cracking the skin. "Yugi", he repeated and furiously wiped away his eyes.

Mr Bennet turned to Mr Darcy. "I don't know what to believe, but judging from the foreigners explanation, could there be more people out there?"

Mr Gardiner looked highly troubled for a couple of seconds, then looked at the young man who was grieving his friend. "Were there others?"

The young man frowned. "I don't know. I not play, but I am here. Yugi …" he said and gestured towards the dead boy, "played. It … killed him. Perhaps others who not play come also."

Mr Darcy turned towards Mrs Reynold. "Have the servants search the grounds. If you find anyone, bring them here. Be kind." Mrs Reynold bowed a bit and dashed of again. A couple of minutes later they could hear the servants scour the grounds.

"Yugi", Georgianna whispered to Eliza, "what an odd name."

"Asian", was all Mrs Darcy said and put an arm around her sister-in-law's shoulders. Jane turned a bit to meet the dark eyes of her younger sister and Mr Bennet could see tears in the eyes of his oldest daughter. It was a rather shocking experience for most of them to have this stranger die on the couch.

"How many played?" Mr Gardiner asked, "two, three, four?"

"Two", the blonde said, "Yugi and Yami no Bakura. Yugi … lost, he was killed." The blonde averted his eyes and no soul present dared to disrupt his silent torment. The group moved away, giving the two friend some privacy. Mr and Mrs Gardiner left soon after, with the promise to be informed if anything were to happen. Georgianna retired with that very same demand.

Jane had sought comfort with her husband and her sister, they sat at a table and conversed with low voices in tone's appropriate for the circumstances. At times they dared a glance towards the two silent figures, one in death, one in sorrow. The doctor, Mr Darcy and Mr Bennet were having a more material and pragmatic conversation.

"He must be buried", the doctor said, "but our traditions will hardly be the same. The man may oppose it."

Mr Bennet coughed a bit. "I doubt he cares about tradition", said he and looked at the sobbing form. It was not common for a man to cry so openly, nothing about them was common.

They were all surprised when the young man stood up and turned towards the three gathered man. "What year?"

"1830", the doctor answered, taken aback.

The expression on the young man's face was horrified. He calculated quietly for himself and from his expression only Mr Bennet could tell he had come to a frightening conclusion. "Ie." He shook his head violently. "Really?"

Mr Bennet nodded before the doctor could react. "What is wrong?"

The young man smiled, a bitter smile of a sort that Mr Bennet nor anybody else present had ever seen before. "I … can't go home … ever."

"Why not?" Jane asked, who had heard him and who felt with him. She was kind and the aspect of someone being unable to go home was horrid.

The blonde just shook his head. "I can't explain." Then he turned to his dead friend, Yugi. "Gomen'nasai, Yugi", he whispered and stroked the bangs out of the foreigners closed eyes. "Gomen'nasai."

Mr Darcy did not need to understand the language the blonde spoke to understand what he was telling the dead man with such an intense tone, the apology was more than obvious. "Sleep here tonight. The housekeeper …" Mr Darcy pointed at Mrs Reynold, "will show you to your room when you are ready."

The young man nodded to show he understood. He bowed towards Mr Darcy. "Arigato, thank you."

"Your name?" Mr Darcy asked, although the short use of words could be interpret as simply rude, as many thought he was, they were simply for the benefit of someone without a grasp of the language.

"Jonouchi, Katsuya Jonouchi", the foreigner said and in his turn inquired after his host's name. Upon receiving an answer the foreigner thanked the man once again. Then the party retired. Before leaving the room Mr Bennet dared one last look upon the odd pair and the only thing that crossed his mind was that he wished he was in his library again.

* * *

In my head I had figured out exactly what Jonouchi was yelling at Yugi, but since Mr Bennet doesn't speak Japanese it was pretty pointless.  
Anyway, do leave a review, I believe I am the first to write a crossover between these two stories.  
I deserve some credit for that, right?  
Review, pretty please


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